October 25, 2006

LENNDEVOURS' First Real Harvest

With most all of Long Island's white wine grapes in and the reds coming in as well, it's time for the first-ever LENNDEVOURS Cabernet Franc to get plucked from the vine, stomped with these size-12 feet and then fermented.

That's right folks, this weekend, I'll be heading out to Peconic to pick my adopted row of cabernet franc at Raphael. Raphael's winemaker -- and LENNDEVOURS contributor -- Richard Olsen-Harbich just emailed me and said that it's time.

He was running out...so I don't know what brix is but I hope to find out tomorrow :)

Everyone says that 2006 is a very unique year. It was cool overall, but with a short-but-really-hot period in July and then sporadic rains...but the overall quality seems like it's going to be good, even if yields are going to be down (significantly in some cases).

In answer to Ryan's question; yes, the red grape harvest is always this late on LI but about two weeks earlier in much of the rest of the East (Virginia first, SE Penn and New Jersey next, with Connecticutt and Massachusetts[depending in how close to the coast they are] at about the same time as the Island)
The typical LI harvest of Merlot usually begins with some early lots around the 18th and the bulk of the picking done beginning around the 25th. Usually Cab Franc is a week to ten days after that, with Cab Sauv and Petit Verdot often being picked as late as the 15th of November!